On Thursday, July 2nd, Raise the Wage PA held a rally in Harrisburg to raise the minimum wage. We joined 60 PA residents who had been occupying the Capitol all week to demand a fair state budget. Together, we marched to the PA Restaurant & Lodging Association to demand that they stop fighting against a fair minimum wage for Pennsylvania’s workers.

Check out some pictures below:

Outside of the PA Restaurant & Lodging Association.Gov. Wolf gave the occupiers a surprise visit.Marching down state street.

Activists Drop Off Over 10,000 Petition Signatures to Republican Leaders

On Monday, June 8th, members of the Raise the Wage PA coalition delivered over 10,000 petition signatures calling on the state legislature to raise PA’s minimum wage to at least $10.10 for all PA workers.

After a brief press conference, workers and other advocates went to the offices of Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, Senate Labor & Industry Chair Lisa Baker, House Majority Leader Dave Reed, and House Labor & Industry Chair Mauree Gingrich to give them the petitions, and to demand that they stop stonewalling the process and allow a vote on legislation to raise the minimum wage.

They then stopped by Governor Wolf’s office, where the Governor himself met them and encouraged them to continue fighting for an increase.

Members of the coalition with Governor Wolf (center).Chuck Harford, a deli worker from Perry County, holds up the petitions as he talks about trying to get by on low wages.Members of the coalition deliver petitions to Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman’s staff.

State Senate Hearing Held on Raising the Minimum Wage

On Tuesday, May 5, the Senate Labor & Industry Committee held hearings on the impacts of raising Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. Workers, business owners, economists and advocates, organized by Raise the Wage PA, testified in favor of raising the wage.

As usual, opposition lobbying groups were there to trot out the usual misinformation and distortion that they like to use to prevent workers from earning a decent wage. However, supporters who testified did a great job pushing back and showing that raising the minimum wage to at least $10.10 is good for workers, good for business, and good for the economy.

Among the great statements of the day was when Pittsburgh business owner Bobby Fry told Sen. Scott Wagner (R-York) that poverty wages (rather than some supposed skills gap) are what makes it difficult to find good employees, and when Chuck Harford, a deli clerk from Perry County, told the committee that without the workers that make businesses run every day, those businesses couldn’t exist.

Workers and advocates gather after the hearing, just before splitting up to lobby their elected officials.Maria Perez, a childcare workers from Philadelphia, testifies about the difficulties of raising her daughter on poverty wages.Business owners Simon Arias & Bobby Fry pose with Alissa Barron-Menza of Business for a Fair Minimum Wage and Sen. Christine Tartaglione, who has introduced legislation to raise the minimum wage.Economist Mark Price, of the Keystone Research Center, laying out the facts. Rick Bloomingdale, PA AFL-CIO president, and Michael Hollander, staff attorney at Community Legal Services, also testified.It’s time to raise the minimum wage.

Keystone Research Center releases county by county report on the benefits of increasing the minimum wage

On Wednesday, April 22, the Keystone Research Center released a report showing how many workers in each county in PA will be impacted by raising the minimum wage to $10.10.Raise the Wage PA held press events around the state on that day to highlight the importance of raising the wages of over 1.2 million Pennsylvanians and pumping $1.8 billion in new wages into the state’s economy. For questions about the Keystone Research Center Report, contact Mark Price at 717-255-7158.

State Representative Patty Kim speaks in HarrisburgWorkers and members of Fight for 15 speak in PittsburghSandra Thompson, President of the York NAACPFast food worker Ivory Bishop talks about what a raise in the minimum wage would mean for her.